** THE HYBRID EPIPHYLLUM **
*** WITH DOUBLE FLOWERS ***
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CHAPTER 3 (pages 5 to 6)
Wressey Cocke's 50th crossbreeding.
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Page 5 / 8 of the article.
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1-To begin with, a historical summary:
2-The two parents of Wressey Cocke's 50th crossbreeding.
Now, let's look at years later in the United States where two hybrid Epiphyllum with double flowers appear mysteriously and which will strongly influence the continuation of the events.
The first one which I will talk about is Epiphyllum x 'Ruby Snowflake'.
Epiphyllum x 'Ruby Snowflake'
Photo reproduced by courtesy of Geneva Coats.
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Epiphyllum x 'Ruby Snowflake'
Photo reproduced by courtesy of Paul Richter.
This hybrid was obtained by John W. Lee and is registered in 1975 at the ESA by Cactus Pete Nursery.
I spoke of mysterious origin because there is no written record in the way in which this hybrid was obtained.
One can however come up with assumptions:
Ruby Snowflake flower presents similarities with that of Curt Knebel’s hybrid 92 (Heureka): just like Heureka, many stamens turned into petals, thus giving a double flower, as in the case of many other flowers (roses, dahlias, etc). Which enables to think, taking into account seed shipping by Curt Knebel to the United States, that Ruby Snowflake descends from Heureka or Flore Pleno, unless a new mutation occurred, as had occurred (rare phenomenon) for Heureka. But this last assumption seems improbable because such mutations are themselves improbable.
The second hybrid which I will talk about is Epiphyllum x 'Tassel'.
Epiphyllum x 'Tassel'
Photo and collection : Thierry le Gallo.
This hybrid was obtained in the United States by Edward Stephans and was registered in 1960 at the ESA. Its flower can involve more than 90 petals.
This second hybrid has an origin as mysterious as the first one. For this one also, there is no written record in the way in which it was obtained.
One is thus led, once again with assumptions: The first, which seems most probable, is that of the relationship with one of the Knebel's hybrids.
The second, more improbable is again that of a mutation.
A crossing between these two Epiphyllum with double flowers became famous:
3-Wressey Cocke's 50th crossbreeding.
The famous American hybridizer Wressey Cocke (1905 - 1993) is particularly known for his 50th crossing:
It is a crossing of Epiphyllum x 'Ruby Snowflake' with Epiphyllum x 'Tassel' (two hybrids of mysterious origin which I talked about above).
This crossing was made in the 1970s and it gave rise to 56 hybrids, registered at the ESA, only some of it have double flowers, others having flowers with a little fewer petals.
Here is the list, with for each hybrid, the size of its flowers as well as the year of its registration at the ESA. Thus, all these hybrids have the same pedigree:
'Ruby Snowflake' x 'Tassel'
The flowers of these 56 hybrids show a great diversity. Some are double; others have fewer petals according to the hybrids and the floral variability.
And here, in alphabetical order, photos of some representatives of W. Cocke's 50th crossbreeding, coming from my collection as well as those of some friends...
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